13 hour Transit in BKK - ideas please
May 30, 2012, 10:24 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston,TX
Programs: UA Plat, Mil Miler, Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium Elite, National Exec. Elite, Hertz Prez Circle
Posts: 191
13 hour Transit in BKK - ideas please
Hello,
My wife (US citizen) travelling alone from MAA-BKK-IAH has a 13 hour transit (5:30am through 9pm on Saturday) in BKK. She is traveling on my miles (I'm a UA Prem Plat).
I search the FT forums to find a thread but I'm afraid I could not.
Questions:
1) For a lady traveling alone request you to share some ideas to spend the whole day. She is not planning to stay at a hotel as it is only day time.
2) The half day tours that I researched all start from hotels...but since she is not staying in any of them...can she still join the tour?
3) Does she have to pay an Thailand PFC when she returns back to the airport in the evening? If so do they take credit card? How much??
4) Are there any tours that start from the airport itself?
5) Read some posts on bad immigration lines at BKK - is that a concern on a Saturday morning around 6am and at 7pm the same day?
6) If she wants to take the Airport link train from BKK to say Makkasan SARL station and she wants to take taxis to go to Aloft or other places nearby - are taxis or tuk tuk easily available near the station around 7am on Saturday morning?
7) If she wants to go to the Grand Palace herself - can she take the train to Phaya Thai and will there be taxis available from there that take her to Grand Palace? Do you even recommend touring the palace on your own?
Many thanks!
My wife (US citizen) travelling alone from MAA-BKK-IAH has a 13 hour transit (5:30am through 9pm on Saturday) in BKK. She is traveling on my miles (I'm a UA Prem Plat).
I search the FT forums to find a thread but I'm afraid I could not.
Questions:
1) For a lady traveling alone request you to share some ideas to spend the whole day. She is not planning to stay at a hotel as it is only day time.
2) The half day tours that I researched all start from hotels...but since she is not staying in any of them...can she still join the tour?
3) Does she have to pay an Thailand PFC when she returns back to the airport in the evening? If so do they take credit card? How much??
4) Are there any tours that start from the airport itself?
5) Read some posts on bad immigration lines at BKK - is that a concern on a Saturday morning around 6am and at 7pm the same day?
6) If she wants to take the Airport link train from BKK to say Makkasan SARL station and she wants to take taxis to go to Aloft or other places nearby - are taxis or tuk tuk easily available near the station around 7am on Saturday morning?
7) If she wants to go to the Grand Palace herself - can she take the train to Phaya Thai and will there be taxis available from there that take her to Grand Palace? Do you even recommend touring the palace on your own?
Many thanks!
May 30, 2012, 2:58 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: most of them
Posts: 3,283
I wish I had more answers to your specific questions. But there are plenty of qualified people here who will.
My guess is that the departure tax is not included in her ticket if she is traveling on a single ticket. Pretty sure it is still 700 baht. Last time I had to pay it was cash only.
There are so many tour guides/companies that I am sure you should be able to find some that will be happy to meet her at the airport, particularly with it being low season there should be plenty of folks there who would be happy to work with you. Unfortunately my go-to guide is in Paris now so he is no help in this situation. On a Saturday AM that early there shouldn't be too much traffic. I would just sign up for a personal tour with car and driver. Of course that also depends somewhat on how much you are will to spend and what exactly she wants to see or do. Arriving that early in the morning though not a whole lot of attractions will be open yet. But I believe the Grand Palace opens at 8:30 so she wouldn't have to wait too long. Or she could go to the flower market to start there.
If she is not planning to stay at a hotel why does she want to go to the Aloft? It's a decent new hotel, but the soi is nothing special. Not worth going out of your way to visit.
Taxis are always around. I would NOT take a tuk tuk unless my life depended on it. And even then I'm not so sure. :-)
My guess is that the departure tax is not included in her ticket if she is traveling on a single ticket. Pretty sure it is still 700 baht. Last time I had to pay it was cash only.
There are so many tour guides/companies that I am sure you should be able to find some that will be happy to meet her at the airport, particularly with it being low season there should be plenty of folks there who would be happy to work with you. Unfortunately my go-to guide is in Paris now so he is no help in this situation. On a Saturday AM that early there shouldn't be too much traffic. I would just sign up for a personal tour with car and driver. Of course that also depends somewhat on how much you are will to spend and what exactly she wants to see or do. Arriving that early in the morning though not a whole lot of attractions will be open yet. But I believe the Grand Palace opens at 8:30 so she wouldn't have to wait too long. Or she could go to the flower market to start there.
If she is not planning to stay at a hotel why does she want to go to the Aloft? It's a decent new hotel, but the soi is nothing special. Not worth going out of your way to visit.
Taxis are always around. I would NOT take a tuk tuk unless my life depended on it. And even then I'm not so sure. :-)
May 30, 2012, 5:24 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2006
Location: BKK.DPS
Programs: P THAI,Diamond HYATT
Posts: 3,290
Hi, the arrival into Bangkok at 6am is pretty painless, the hardest part is the long walk from the arrival pier to Immigration. At that time you will find a line of 3/4/5 people waiting to get through and your turn will come up in minutes. Anyway at this time of the morning, nothing is open so there is no hurry.
Contact ratservice, there would be hundreds like her, just search, but she or someone else will pick you up at the airport and drop you back later that day. Early morning it is lovely to see the flower market and to get into the middle of Chinatown, to sit in the grand Shangri La hotel foyer lounge, be served tea and watch the river traffic go to and fro. The Grand Palace opens around now so an early start there. After the palace it is time for lunch, if your wife would like a spa/massage there are thousands to choose, I notice you are a Marriott, and that hotel has superb facilities. The car and driver will stay with her all day, they find a shady tree and have a snooze. Central Bangkok is full of up market malls, one after another, so if she likes shopping a couple of hours in Centralworld, Paragon, Platinum will delight her, or the girls love a new one call Terminal21
To answer some of your questions, whilst it is easy to walk around the palace, I would recommend you have a guide. The train into the city is simple, but does she have any carry on?, taxis are scarce around the rail, but the street is full of them. A car and driver guide, plus all the expenses of a day in Bangkok should set you back $200, a massage will cost $80 in a hotel, only $20 in a mall, so exchange enough into Baht
Contact ratservice, there would be hundreds like her, just search, but she or someone else will pick you up at the airport and drop you back later that day. Early morning it is lovely to see the flower market and to get into the middle of Chinatown, to sit in the grand Shangri La hotel foyer lounge, be served tea and watch the river traffic go to and fro. The Grand Palace opens around now so an early start there. After the palace it is time for lunch, if your wife would like a spa/massage there are thousands to choose, I notice you are a Marriott, and that hotel has superb facilities. The car and driver will stay with her all day, they find a shady tree and have a snooze. Central Bangkok is full of up market malls, one after another, so if she likes shopping a couple of hours in Centralworld, Paragon, Platinum will delight her, or the girls love a new one call Terminal21
To answer some of your questions, whilst it is easy to walk around the palace, I would recommend you have a guide. The train into the city is simple, but does she have any carry on?, taxis are scarce around the rail, but the street is full of them. A car and driver guide, plus all the expenses of a day in Bangkok should set you back $200, a massage will cost $80 in a hotel, only $20 in a mall, so exchange enough into Baht
May 31, 2012, 9:53 am
#4
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
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Posts: 14,429
1) For a lady traveling alone request you to share some ideas to spend the whole day. She is not planning to stay at a hotel as it is only day time.
2) The half day tours that I researched all start from hotels...but since she is not staying in any of them...can she still join the tour?
7) If she wants to go to the Grand Palace herself - can she take the train to Phaya Thai and will there be taxis available from there that take her to Grand Palace? Do you even recommend touring the palace on your own?
2) The half day tours that I researched all start from hotels...but since she is not staying in any of them...can she still join the tour?
7) If she wants to go to the Grand Palace herself - can she take the train to Phaya Thai and will there be taxis available from there that take her to Grand Palace? Do you even recommend touring the palace on your own?
...so if she likes shopping a couple of hours in Centralworld, Paragon, Platinum will delight her, or the girls love a new one call Terminal21
taxis are scarce around the rail, but the street is full of them. A car and driver guide, plus all the expenses of a day in Bangkok should set you back $200, a massage will cost $80 in a hotel, only $20 in a mall, so exchange enough into Baht
taxis are scarce around the rail, but the street is full of them. A car and driver guide, plus all the expenses of a day in Bangkok should set you back $200, a massage will cost $80 in a hotel, only $20 in a mall, so exchange enough into Baht
I'm a budget kind of guy, so dropping $200 on one day sightseeing takes my breath away
At any rate, if she's traveled in Asia before, and wants to do the budget thing, it's easy enough to take the airport train to Phaya Thai, transfer to BTS and go to the river to take the boat to the Grand Palace.
On my first trip to SE Asia I took the half day tour of Grand Palace from the hotel, but with transfers to the bus that actually took us to the Palace and a stop at a "Gem" store on the way back we wasted a whole lot of time
Faster and more interesting the other way @:-)Taxis will get stuck in traffic much the same way as buses, though perhpas not so much in the morning. They are always around, though you may have to walk a few meters to get to a main road. (I've flaged them down at 3 a.m. to go to the airport without a problem. Also, I normaly try to flag down a moving one, not one parked unless it's at train station).
Not a shopping kind of guy, but the places mentioned above are nice. Terminal 21 is brand new and right on BTS and subway line, so easy to get to.
As you might guess I'm a big fan of BTS.
Oh, and as glennaa11 says, STAY AWAY from the Tuk Tuks, they are looking to rip you off
EmailKid
May 31, 2012, 1:48 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Snooky
Posts: 2,508
No immigration lines any more. Take a taxi. Get one outside the terminal. There are signs for Taxi Meter. They're cheap and it'll be 6 am on Sat, so no traffic. Maybe eat breakfast on the river deck at the Mandarin, Shangri La or Royal Orchid, check out some tourist brochures, and wait for the nearby attractions to open up. Ask the concierge what boat to take or about tours. Massage is cheap, so maybe an hour traditional and an hour foot at Wat Pho, since she has to check out the reclining Buddha any how. Chinatown is nearby and quite interesting to walk around (not so much if it's broiling hot ). Siam (high end) and MBK (bargains) are easy to get to if she wants to shop (Siam or Nat Stadium on BTS). BTW rainy season is coming up soon so plan accordingly. wj
May 31, 2012, 4:37 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2006
Location: BKK.DPS
Programs: P THAI,Diamond HYATT
Posts: 3,290
$200.00 would cover the first 5 minutes in Zara for my lot, or it would buy a shoe, pay for half a massage treatment, or if I threw in another 50, it would cover lunch for the lot of us. Take breathing exercises, it will happen to you one day, but enjoy your life now, trust me, it will change.